Content Area(s): Life Science, Engineering/Tech Topic: Medicine created from snake blood Short description: A study found the chemicals in python blood control a change in the size of their hearts when they eat. This discovery may be the key to developing medicines to treat heart failure in humans.
Claim: Chemicals in python blood might be used to create medicine to treat heart failure in humans.
Keywords: heart failure Difficulty of Concept: Easy
MS-ETS1 Engineering Design
MS-ETS1-1. Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/Literacy
RST.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations descriptions.
RST.6-8.8 Distinguish among facts and reasoned judgment based on research findings, and speculation in a text.
WHST.6-8.1 Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
WHST.6-8.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational text to support analysis, reflection and research.
SL.8.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions(one-on-one, in groups, teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Snakes have the amazing ability to eat prey that is as big as they are. When a snake eats such a large meal, huge amounts of fat rush into the snake's bloodstream. If a human ate a meal that big, our blood would be so filled with fatty acids and other compounds that it would damage our hearts. So how can a snake's heart, liver, and kidneys handle all of that fat? It turns out that a snake's internal organs can double in size while digesting a large meal, and then within a few days the organs return to normal size. By growing bigger, the snake's heart can handle all of the extra fat in the bloodstream. Scientists hope that by learning about how this process works, they can create treatments to prevent sudden death in young athletes, as well as treating ailments like diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity.
Scientists at the University of Colorado think they have solved the mystery. They found that a snake doesn't grow new heart cells; instead the heart cells themselves grow bigger. They also found a combination of fatty acids that will cause a mouse heart to grow. The scientists believe that with more research, they might be able to create a drug that will make a human's heart larger and stronger and better able to deal with disease. This wouldn't be the first medicine to come from reptiles. A diabetes drug known as Byetta was developed from the saliva of Gila lizards.
Title: Snake Oil for Heart Failure
Content Area(s): Life Science, Engineering/TechTopic: Medicine created from snake blood
Short description: A study found the chemicals in python blood control a change in the size of their hearts when they eat. This discovery may be the key to developing medicines to treat heart failure in humans.
Claim: Chemicals in python blood might be used to create medicine to treat heart failure in humans.
Keywords: heart failure
Difficulty of Concept: Easy
Reading Level (Pit Stop 8 Article):
Flesch Reading Ease: 72.6Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 7.5
Lexile: 1120
Next Generation Science Standards:
MS-ETS1 Engineering DesignMS-ETS1-1. Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
Common Core State Standards Connections:
ELA/LiteracyRST.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations descriptions.
RST.6-8.8 Distinguish among facts and reasoned judgment based on research findings, and speculation in a text.
WHST.6-8.1 Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
WHST.6-8.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational text to support analysis, reflection and research.
SL.8.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions(one-on-one, in groups, teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Vocabulary Words: prey, hypertrophy, fatty acids, lipids, triglycerides, hereditary disease, acquired disease
Topic of Game Introduction Video: Poor Authority/Fraudulent Claims
Link to Game Introduction Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wN6u_pFfgQ
Full Text of Article:
Snakes have the amazing ability to eat prey that is as big as they are. When a snake eats such a large meal, huge amounts of fat rush into the snake's bloodstream. If a human ate a meal that big, our blood would be so filled with fatty acids and other compounds that it would damage our hearts. So how can a snake's heart, liver, and kidneys handle all of that fat? It turns out that a snake's internal organs can double in size while digesting a large meal, and then within a few days the organs return to normal size. By growing bigger, the snake's heart can handle all of the extra fat in the bloodstream. Scientists hope that by learning about how this process works, they can create treatments to prevent sudden death in young athletes, as well as treating ailments like diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity.Scientists at the University of Colorado think they have solved the mystery. They found that a snake doesn't grow new heart cells; instead the heart cells themselves grow bigger. They also found a combination of fatty acids that will cause a mouse heart to grow. The scientists believe that with more research, they might be able to create a drug that will make a human's heart larger and stronger and better able to deal with disease. This wouldn't be the first medicine to come from reptiles. A diabetes drug known as Byetta was developed from the saliva of Gila lizards.
References/Sources:
Additional Content:
Author: Kathy Carlsen